Number Plate Buyers Guide

Unless you want to pay the Department of Transport fee to retain it, the registration is automatically made void. In nearly all cases the old registration will be retuned to your vehicle if you remove the personalised number plate at a later date. This returns the vehicle back to its original reg plate. You simply remove the old plates and fit the new ones at the time we advise.

If the registration is actually owned by Regplates or is a government issue, VAT sometimes has to be added. Registrations not subject to VAT are usually being sold on a commission basis. Please call us or email to check on specific number plates.

Regplates have an extensive dealer network and we send a list of our number plates to other dealers. This guarantees maximum exposure. Of course if you buy direct from Regplates the price will be cheaper.

We expect all purchase agreements to be honoured, just as you shall expect us to honour our terms of business. However, we do recognise that situations can change and we shall endeavour to advertise and sell the registration on your behalf after it has been transferred to your vehicle or payment has been made in full. PLEASE NOTE: OUR SERVICE BEGINS UPON PAYMENT BEING TAKEN, ONCE YOU HAVE ORDERED THIS REGISTRATION NUMBER IT CANNOT BE CHANGED OR CANCELLED

Yes. We can put your chosen registration onto a retention certificate which is valid for 12 months. This can then be easily assigned when you purchase a vehicle. If you need more time, the certificate can be extended for 10 years without further charge.

Yes. Although you cannot transfer or retain a non-transferable number, the vehicle can receive a registration number providing the non-transferable number is not a "Q" mark and providing the vehicle meets the normal conditions of the Sales, Transfer and Retention schemes.

If you are buying a vehicle mark that has previously never been issued or assigned to a vehicle the transfer time is usually between 5 and 10 days. The reason for the speed in which marks of this nature may be transferred is due to the fact that there is no donor vehicle to be inspected by the Department Of Transport.

Where a mark has been previously assigned to another vehicle there may be a need to arrange an inspection of the donor vehicle prior to completing the transfer. In order to make a vehicle ready for transfer the donor vehicle must be taxed and hold a current MOT certificate, these documents may take a few weeks to acquire from the donor.

In addition to the time required to obtain donor documents the governing bodies themselves require ample time to process transfer applications. The average transfer time requested by the governing bodies is two to three weeks. As you can see, whilst every attempt is made by us to perform the fastest possible transfer time delays may be out of our control.

You cannot make a vehicle look newer than it actually is by transferring a younger year letter. For example JON 123W cannot be transferred to a vehicle originally registered as ABC 123C as this would make it look younger. However, it is possible to transfer it to JON 123X as the recipient vehicle would be newer than the donor registration. The same applies to prefix plates but vehicle registration numbers that do not contain a year identifier may be assigned to a vehicle of any age.

The average time scale is 5 - 10 working days however many of our transfers are completed faster. We ensure that every transfer is expedited as quickly as possible. However, it should be noted that the transfer cannot be started until we receive all the required documents.

This presents no problem to Regplates, you simply send the appropriate fee, your insurance certificate or cover note and the tax application to us, ensuring that you state the old registration number on the application form. In the case of a new MOT, again you must ensure that the garage MOT the vehicle under the old mark and send the certificate to us immediately, with a covering note informing us of the registration mark you are purchasing. We shall have the MOT amended accordingly as and when it is appropriate during the transfer procedure.

There are no time restrictions and transferring a mark is a simple procedure which may be applied for yourself. Please note that any mark purchased from us must not be offered for re-sale until our transaction with you has been finalised.

Yes. This is called a double transfer. It presents no problem for Regplates but you shall need to supply us with the documents of the other vehicle involved and an extra £80 cheque payable to the Department of Transport. Although this creates more work for us, we do not make any extra charge. If no other vehicle is available then the mark can normally be retained on a Department of Transport retention certificate in accordance with the governing Regulations. The current fee is £80.

Yes, this does not normally create a problem. Most car dealerships will process the transfer at the same time as registering the vehicle and simply require the number you have purchased to be supplied on a retention certificate. This way your car will be assigned a new registration of its own and the private plate will on the car ready when you collect it.

Yes. However in any event it is at the sole discretion of the governing bodies. If a specific personalised number plate combination has not been released previously, we can apply to put it into a DVLA number plate auction. This process can take upto 3 months but is a great way of getting hold of your perfect plate!

Regplates provide details of the many available marks Nationwide. In addition to selling thousands of our own stock items we also hold many public commissions and the stock and commissions of many other dealers throughout the UK. Occasionally, records are miss-typed and appear as an alternative combination that is in fact not for sale. Also there are circumstances where a recently acquired mark is still on our database due to the fact that the donor has failed to advise us of the sale and subsequent non-availability. If you have recently noted that your mark is listed and wish to provide us with further information or wish us to remove it from the web site, please send us an email to not forgetting to specify the registration in question and the validation character off your V5 (log book) for confirmation.

Registration numbers are not items of property so you cannot buy legal title to them. What you pay for is the assignment right to the particular number. The sale involves a legally binding contract between the Secretary of State and the purchaser for an agreed price. The purchaser is granted the right to assign the number to a vehicle registered in his/her own name, or that of his/her nominee where applicable, within the expiry date of the certificate. The assignment right is granted to the purchaser alone and it is non-transferable - the nominee has no rights to the number.

In addition to the agreed sale price, an assignment fee (currently £80) is payable at the time of purchase. Buyers are issued with a V750 Certificate of Entitlement which records details of the registration number, the purchaser and nominee details where supplied at the time of purchase. If, after you have received your certificate, you wish to add or change nominee details, you will need to apply to the DVLA returning your certificate to them or we will of course be happy to assist with this.

If you do not wish to assign the number before the certificate expiry date, you can apply to extend your assignment rights.

If your vehicle is stolen and has not been recovered after a year you can apply to have its registration number re-assigned to your replacement vehicle providing certain conditions are met. In order to qualify for the concession, the theft must have been notified to the police and recorded at DVLA as stolen for not less than 12 months. In addition, at the time of the theft the vehicle must have had a current test pass certificate and have had a current vehicle excise License (tax disc). The DVLA will also require a letter from your insurers confirming that they have no objection to the number being re-issued. This must be provided because once insurers have settled your claim, they have a rightful claim to the vehicle should it be recovered.

A write-off happens when a damaged vehicle is judged by insurers to be beyond economic repair. In such a case, the insurance company agrees a pay-out with the insured, and legal ownership of the vehicle then passes to the insurance company. The company is then free to sell the vehicle as salvage and the purchaser may repair it and put it back on the road.

If your vehicle is written off, you may still apply to transfer or retain its number providing:

A) The vehicle is available for inspection.

B) You can satisfy all the conditions of the transfer or retention schemes.

IMPORTANT: It is essential that you discuss your cherished registration number with your insurers at the outset. You will need to ensure they are aware that in the event of a write-off, the vehicle must be made available for inspection by governing bodies if you are to transfer or retain the number. If your insurers settle your claim and sell the vehicle as salvage before the number is properly transferred or retained, the mark will pass with the vehicle to the new keeper and you will lose your entitlement. You will also lose entitlement if the vehicle is sent for scrapping before the number is transferred or retained.

Once you have successfully transferred or retained your registration number from the written off vehicle, let your insurers know about the change of number and send them the amended V5 registration document. If your insurers intend to sell the write-off as salvage, the vehicle must display the replacement registration number.

Scrapping occurs when a vehicle, whether an insurance write-off or not, is broken up for spares or otherwise destroyed. Once a vehicle ceases to exist its registration number is cancelled.

If your vehicle has been scrapped, you will not be able to transfer its registration number.

The person who actually breaks up or destroys the vehicle must notify the governing bodies that the vehicle has been scrapped and return the V5 registration document.

The prospect of entrusting a relative stranger with cash and valuable documents before the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have authorised your chosen registration to be displayed on your vehicle can be daunting.

Although you can arrange the transfer of a registration number yourself by direct application to the DVLA, the process of finding a suitable registration and then ensuring that all legal and Department of Transport requirements are complied with can make the whole business complex and time consuming.

Opting for a dealer with MIRAD & APRT membership assures you of their proven experience and efficiency in handling the formalities for you.

Where Did It All Begin?

A1 - The Ultimate Number Plate?

Number plates were first issued in 1903 when Earl Russell was assigned the highly prestigious mark A1 to his Napier motor car by London County Council.

Even in the early days, people recognised the significance and enjoyment brought by owning a prestigious or personalised number plate and often kept them within the family for many years. Their significance is often highly personalised to their owners. Some like to have a registration that originated in their local area, some are attracted to owning their own initials and others enjoy the fun of a word based registration mark.

Registrations that are car related always prove popular such as 45 TON on an Aston Martin DB6

Since their humble beginning in 1903, cherished numbers have continued to increase in popularity often adding the finishing touch to our prized possessions and very often prove to be a valuable investment.

The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry number plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.